Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte, aka Jean Laforcade, Seigneur de Lafitte, aka Jean Lafourcade, aka Jean II. de Forcade (* Before 1525 in Béarn; † about December 1589 in Béarn, presumably in Pau), was a Protestant nobleman and a descendant of the noble family of Forcade of Béarn in Navarre.
Contents
- Brief History of Auvillar
- Chambre des Comptes in Pau
- Historical Events in Chronological Order
- Parents
- Marriage
- Children
- Other Family Branches
- References
He, like his ancestors and his descendants, was a member of court of the Albret family, the rulers of Lower Navarre. A soldier in early life, then a financial officer by occupation later, he was General Treasurer of the King and Queen of Navarre in their County of Armagnac (Trésorier général pour les roi et reine de Navarre en leur comté d'Armagnac), General Treasurer of Navarre (Trésorier général de Navarre), Counsellor to Antoine of Navarre on his Conseil ordinaire, Counsellor to Henry III of Navarre on his Conseil privé, President of Finance (Président aux Comptes), President of the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in Pau then First President of the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in Pau. Although he is referred to as a lawyer in at least one source, this is questionable due to his apparent illiteracy.
Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte notarized his testament at Maître Ouzannet, Notary and Secretary of the commune of Laplume on 7 September 1571. Why this testament was made in September 1571, many years before his actual death about December 1589 is a matter of speculation, but one plausible explanation is the unrest and fighting in Auvillar in 1571-72, where he had been Captain of the Château d'Auvillar, perhaps also the Governor of the Château d'Auvillar, appointed by letters patent from Jeanne d'Albret, Queen regnant of Navarre. A brief look at the history of Auvillar highlights the unrest and fighting in this period.
Shortly before 8 January 1590, the sieur de Laforcade died during his term in office as First President of the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre (Premier président en la Chambre).
Brief History of Auvillar
Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte spent much of the period of 1555-72, and perhaps longer, in Auvillar, in various roles in the treasury and as Governor of the Château d'Auvillar, a territory of the Albret family since 1527. As such, he was a central figure in the strife between Protestant and Catholics in the territory.
Marguerite of Angoulême, aka Marguerite d'Orléans, married 9 October 1509 with Charles IV, Duke of Alençon, Count of Armagnac and, in June 1515, Viscount of Auvillar. He died in 1525 without descendance and she remarried with Henry d'Albret, King of Navarre in 1527 who therewith also became Viscount of Auvillar. He was succeeded by his daughter, Jeanne d'Albret in 1555 through her marriage to Antoine de Bourbon. The Protestants retained possession of Auvillar until June 1571, when the city was retaken by royalist troops. No sooner was Auvillar retaken by royalist troops, than the inhabitants of Auvillar, completely demolished the Viscountal castle to avenge the excesses and abuses of the Huguenots and to retaliate against Henry III of Navarre, their leader. Jeanne d'Albret was succeeded in 1572 as Viscount of Auvillar by her son, Henry III of Navarre, who Henry of Navarre retook Auvillar, where he stayed from 13 to 15 November 1574, but he decided against rebuilding the castle. In 1589 he became Henry IV, King of France.
Chambre des Comptes in Pau
The Chambre des Comptes of Navarre, and more specifically the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in Pau, is the center of the career of Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte as well as for the next five generations of his direct descendants.
The Chambre des Comptes of Navarre was created by Henry II of Navarre on 4 January 1527, and was reconfirmed and authorized by his successor, Antoine of Navarre, on 11 September 1560, who made at the same time a number of laws to set out the powers of the officers, not only for the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in Pau, but also for those of Nérac and Vendôme. Among these laws were those that determined the number of officers that each one had to have, namely one President, five Counselors/Auditors, a Registrar, a Huissier and a Patrimonial Prosecutor (a "Procureur Patrimonial"); the jurisdiction and knowledge were set forth for all matters concerning the types of income and expense accounting, and the circumstances and dependencies, all the same, and with the same authority and justice that had belonged to the King himself. By 28 October 1563, the number of huissiers had been increased to two. On 30 September 1569, the Queen Regnant Jeanne published new laws about religion with two main principles: the first being to suspended all officers who were not Huguenot and prohibit the Lieutenant General from enlisting Catholics, and the second being to seize the property and assets, ecclesiastical or layperson, of those who disobeyed her and to sell them on public auction. This latter is, in essence, the beginning of war in Béarn. The number of counselors/auditors was increased to six with the addition of a position of Supernumerary on 28 October 1563, but he was only installed in this office on 3 January 1568.
The Conseil Souverain of Navarre, on which Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte later served as a Counsellor, was created by Henry II of Navarre at the Château de Pau eight years before the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre, on 13 June 1519.
Whereas Protestant church records are very sparse and contain large time gaps, a variety of other sources are available. The most important sources, because of the family's position on the court of the Albret family and his responsibilities later in life, are the registers of the Conseil Souverain of Navarre and the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in Pau. They shed some light on the life and career of Jean Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte, with specific dates and facts.
Historical Events in Chronological Order
The preceding appointment as President on the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre (French: "Président aux Comptes"), or more specifically the political infighting surrounding the appointment, reveals that he was either illiterate, or made out to appear as such, by his enemies on the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre, in particular the sieur Odet de Forbet, Procureur Patrimonial. An extract from one register, translated into English, reads:
Parents
Notable genealogists Gabriel O'Gilvy and Chaix d'Est-Ange both alleged, without citing sources, that he is the son of Noble Gaston de Forcade. They were unable to verify his filiation and the spread of approximate birth years discredits this hypothesis.
Records available in the 21st century imply, without confirming, that he was instead the son of Maréchal Arnaudt de Forcade, who originally received the noble fief of La Fitte as a donation from Jeanne d'Albret in 1571.
Marriage
Records indicate that Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte may have married at least two times.
Noble Jean de Forcade, Squire, notarized his marriage contract with Odette de Rey at Maître Ouzannet, Notary and secretary of the commune of Laplume on 29 April 1554. Odette de Rey, was the sister of Noble Jacques de Rey, seigneur de La Salle, who was a captain and the military commandant of the village of Laplume.
A pension in the amount of 100 écus in gold was established by the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in favor of the widow of the sieur de La Forcade, Demoiselle Loyse d'Aboval, for the services rendered by her husband on 27 August 1591.
Louise d'Aboval, widow of Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de Lafitte, Président des Comptes, notarized her testament about 1595 at the Notary Pérarnaud de Camps in Pau.
Children
In his 1571 testament, he names three sons and two daughters from his marriage, named in the following order: Pierre, Étienne, Bernard, Antoinette and Marie. At least two of these sons carried on the noble family lines. There were two additional sons who apparently were not named in this testament, Dominique (†1636), who married Agnes Ducosso de Bilheres-Projan, and Jean, who married a de Lucmajour, and who follows.
Other Family Branches
Several noble branches of the Forcade family claim a common descendance from the noble Forcade family of Orthez, where the family is recorded as early as the 12th century.
The vast pool of historical sources available now with search tools in the 21st century, tends to point to Jean de Laforcade, seigneur de La Fitte as the father of several branches of the noble family of Forcade. Circumstantial evidence from 17th century records tends to confirm his parentage of these family branches.